I'm not a fan of Russell either. I'll be glad when he's replaced with a more capable defender, as I feel he's the weakest link of the d-core.

Sure he's a good skater and moves the puck well...but he's neutralized pretty easily by a solid fore-check. I get that he had a strong series against LA...but I think he's a niche player who in a perfect world would be replaced by someone who's 200+ pounds.

No he's not. He has the ideal skill set to counter a strong fore-check. You counter a fore-check with mobility and strong puck skills, not size and physicality.